Best cloud-based programs for Windows OS

Today more and more software developers decide to either completely move to the cloud or start sharing their services between online and desktop-based.

Should you move online, as well?

That really depends. With some programs, yes but other tasks should definitely be left on your hard-disk for desktop use.

Here are the best software of both worlds.

First and foremost, what are the musts.

Essentials

Dropbox, Box

I use Dropbox for everything. Basically, I use it to share family folders with my kids and my wife and work folders to share with my colleagues. Also, my automatic screenshots and mobile photos are also saved in my Dropbox. I now have over 5GB free and I have never ran out of space.

No one likes to be wasting time on trivial tasks. You probably spend hours online, sometimes you see something you want to share. Then, you probably would press PrtScn button, copy the image to Paint, crop, save, upload it to Dropbox or share the image through email.

Text Processor

After Microsoft Word started lagging for me, I gave Google Drive a shot and never looked back. Add-ons make it a powerful tool while constant autosaving make sure I never lose what I write.

I will only say that if I used spreadsheets more often, I would use Excel for this.

Photo editing

Our recommendation – Pixlr

There are many tools you can use to play with your photos but none of them can compare to the power of Photoshop. However, if you just need to alter a few details, maybe remove the red-eye effect, Pixlr will be enough for most of your needs.

Calendar

Our recommendation – Google Calendar

Please don’t sign up to those expensive schedule management services. Learn a few tricks and Google Calendar will be the best tool you ever used. Easy to share, accessible on virtually any device, ability to color-code your multiple calendars. It’s powerful and yet a very slick tool.

To Do List/Notes

Our recommendation – Keep

It was a time when I used a desktop app for my schedule, to do list, etc. It was called My Organization or something like that. It was a long time ago. Now, for a few years already I moved all my tasks online. Again, like Calendar.

Note taking apps seem to split people, you may like OneNote, or Evernote. Personally, I use Keep. It’s so simple and yet, with the right system, it’s incredible powerful (sort, color-code, label, set reminders). All free.

So, for example, on one note I have my shopping list that is only 5-8 points, while on the other I have almost a whole book-worth of content in lessons on how to play Texas Hold’em. Whatever the format, Keep is a great tool for that.

Storage

Our recommendation – External Hard Drive

Call me paranoid but I am not leaving my photos and videos on a cloud. These days there are just too many DDoS attacks on big companies, ransomware viruses, celebs being hacked.

I’m no celebrity but one thing I prefer not to move to a cloud-based platforms are my personal files.